this post was submitted on 01 Jun 2024
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A classic Monty Python joke from Live at the Hollywood Bowl. Definitely some truth in this... I live in Germany with some of the best lagers in the world, and having a Miller Light for the first time was a really weird experience.
Now when I've visited the US quite a few times, I can say I dislike the expensive craft beers way more compared to the classic american lagers... They are way too hoppy, but the worst thing is how much more expensive they are! Like a pale ale can be over ten dollars, but a pint of PBR is 3.50. Beer should be cheap, and I don't really like how this craft beer culture made the prices go so high.
The problem is, is the craft beer industry is obsessed with hops and the different varieties. Since IPAs are one of the most hopped beers, they took it and ran with it, all the while going down the rabbit hole of adding more and more hops. (akin to a child learning to cook by adding continually dumping in different spices to try to balance out the others) playing with the mixture of hop varieties. Most of them are also brewed to be drunk close to 0C which lightens its bitterness a bit. Though, fruit-infused and some hazy ones can sometimes have that bitterness work in their favor.
The next time you are in the US and you are still curious, while not to common, look more towards the porter/stout side. The coffee ones tend to be really good along with the more niche bourbon-barrel aged stouts. Fruity wheat beers can be a hit-or-miss with some being hopped more than others, but there is a good portion which are really good; sour ales having the same issue. Craft lagers could be another, but are almost non-existent due to how it's brewed.
There's over 9,000 breweries in the US, and you'll find many aren't all hopped up ipas. Go do some googles searching, maybe take a Lil tour if they'll show you around, and just start trying to buy from the source when you find something you like. There's likely one near you.
My in-laws brought me back a pack of 4 different craft beers from a trip recently. I can't drink and enjoy them - way too hoppy. Even the Pilsner - and I like a good Pilsner - was not enjoyable at all. The one that's left is the dark beer - going to be an expensive dirty Diesel one day.
Well... I'm still in the US, and on this trip I mostly just get a Budweiser or Modelo when I want a beer. I feel like I don't need to make a scene about the beer I drink, because a beer is a beer... I also enjoyed Coors Banquet a lot.
Wines are a different matter. In the Oregon vineyards I've had some of the best pinots I've ever tasted, much better than the pinots I've had in France. One of the best things on this trip was our day of tastings in the different wineries.
I figured as much. Just wanted to give some suggestions if you ever were interested in going down that route again.
Being less than couple hours from Napa Valley, I do definitely get the appeal of a good wine though. I, myself prefer them over beer in most cases too.
Why haven't any American brewers been able to make a solid lager? I typically get Spaten or Becks, but pretty much every American lager I try is terrible
It is very hard to brew a good lager, like the good Helles style famously brewed in Bavaria. I've been on a mission every time I come to the US to find good Helles, and I found two places that get very close:
This place in Seattle: https://maps.app.goo.gl/czPMtm4xkunkopEc8
And this in Weaverville: https://maps.app.goo.gl/wuNS33EcQ1qC9zfb9
But quite often even if they advertise the beer as German style Helles, it has some quality that makes it very different. Usually it's sweet or even hoppy. I think for an american a special beer should have a special taste, but a good Helles is just very fresh and crisp beer.
Edit: and Becks is one of the worst beers in Germany in my opinion... At least nobody tries to sell overpriced Sternburg here.
Yes "sweet or hoppy" sums it up so well. I've been traveling a lot to the USA the last few years and whenever I bring this up at the inevitable craft brewery we end up at the Americans think I have no sense of taste in beer.
But they're all the same and horrible. They've been brain washed.